My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Oxygen Drunk

“President Meng, I can’t get an appointment with the office building owner,” Assistant Zhang said, her expression a mix of frustration and resignation as she held her phone.

It had been several days. After much effort, they finally obtained the contact information for the owner of the office building, but the person refused to talk, no matter what.

Meng Qingwu looked up. Someone is actually reclusive to this extent?

However, the location of that building was so perfect that she felt unwilling to give up and search for alternatives.

“Push the contact info to me. I’ll try talking to them myself,” Meng Qingwu said.

“Understood.”

“But while I’m dealing with them, keep an eye out for other suitable locations.”

“Yes, ma’am.” After answering, Assistant Zhang hesitated.

“Is there something else?” Meng Qingwu raised an eyebrow.

Assistant Zhang opened her mouth, then finally whispered, “The others asked me to check… what’s going on with Chairman Meng lately?”

Lately, something seemed off with Meng Shuyu. While she was always cold and unapproachable, it had worsened recently. The heavy atmosphere she carried made everyone afraid to go near her.

Meng Qingwu paused. Now that she thought about it, she had noticed that Ms. Meng’s mood had turned particularly sour ever since she attended that tea gathering a few days ago.

Shaking her head, Meng Qingwu indicated she didn’t know either.

After Assistant Zhang left, Meng Qingwu looked at the contact card sent to her. She suspected the owner of this building might be a master of social anxiety. Even their profile picture was just a void of pitch black.

She sent a friend request and added a note explaining her purpose.

Afterwards, she switched apps to her four-person group chat. The conversation was heated; they were planning a gathering for this Friday night as a late “welcome back” party for her.

However, Meng Qingwu had a feeling this was going to be a “Hongmen Banquet”—a trap.

…

Friday night, 7:00 PM. Meng Qingwu appeared at a famous lounge in B City called Oxygen Drunk. On her way to find Jin Le and the others, she glanced at her phone.

Two days. After she had sent multiple friend requests, the person on the other end had finally accepted. But despite accepting, they hadn’t said a single word.

Meng Qingwu raised an eyebrow and sent a message asking for an appointment. She planned to wear them down later; the priority now was surviving the clutches of her friends.

“Over here!”

A hand waved from a distance. Meng Qingwu looked up and saw “Number Two” Jia Yu standing at the door of a private booth, grinning at her.

Meng Qingwu: “…” Can my ‘Cold Beauty’ persona survive tonight?

As soon as she got close, Jia Yu hooked an arm around her neck and dragged her into the booth.

“You’re here! So late, we thought you were going to run away.”

The moment she stepped inside, Jin Le—having seen her already—remained relatively calm. But the other friend immediately lunged, jumping onto Meng Qingwu’s back and rubbing her cheeks vigorously.

While kneading her face, she said through gritted teeth, “You heartless girl! Gone for four years! Not a single word for four years! We thought you died out there!”

Entangled by the two of them, Meng Qingwu collapsed onto the sofa as if overwhelmed, completely at their mercy.

In the past, Jin Le—the “Big Sister” of the group—would have stepped in to mediate. This time, however, she seemed intent on letting Meng Qingwu learn a lesson. She ignored the struggle and even took a sip of her drink with a satisfied look.

“I was wrong! I’m sorry! I’ll never do it again!”

A wise person knows when to surrender. Meng Qingwu, pinned to the sofa and unable to move, begged for mercy, nearly dying of laughter from being tickled.

The two satisfied themselves and let out cold huffs before finally climbing off her and letting her go for the moment.

Due to the scuffle, their clothes were wrinkled and their hair was slightly messy. The three of them looked like beautiful madwomen.

Meng Qingwu lay paralyzed on the sofa, gasping for air. Even though the tickling had stopped, she felt utterly depleted from laughing so hard.

“Get up once you’ve caught your breath! The ‘Trial of the Three Departments’ hasn’t even started yet!” Jia Yu kicked the sole of her foot.

Hearing this, Meng Qingwu lost all motivation to move. She lay there like a salted fish, motionless.

“Not moving? If you don’t move, I’m not sure what I’ll do next?” “Number Three” Yuan Junjun leaned halfway over to look at Meng Qingwu, her voice intentionally cold and ghostly.

Meng Qingwu: “…”

“I’m fine now.” She sat up with a serious face, smoothed out her messy clothes, and put on a polite smile.

It looked incredibly fake.

Yuan Junjun huffed and sat across from her. The four of them formed a semicircle—the trial was in session. Meng Qingwu was the defendant.

The situation reminded Meng Qingwu of the time her relationship with Cheng Yi was first discovered; they had looked exactly like this back then.

Yuan Junjun: “Leniency to those who confess!” Jia Yu: “Severity to those who resist!” Jin Le just smiled.

Meng Qingwu: “…” She didn’t think she had anything to confess.

“Maybe… you guys could ask questions?” Meng Qingwu said cautiously.

The three across from her were silent for a moment, then burst out all at once.

“Why didn’t you contact us after you left?!” “What are you back for now?!” “Do you even consider us friends?!”

Meng Qingwu sat there, nearly drowning in their spit. She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. “One at a time, one at a time.”

“First, I didn’t contact you because my situation was too terrible. I was afraid of passing on negative energy, and even more afraid of hearing news from your end.” “Second, I finished my studies, so of course I had to come back!” “Third! How can you say I don’t consider you friends!”

If she didn’t consider them friends, would they still be alive after jumping all over her like that?

Yuan Junjun huffed and crossed her arms, eyeing her. The other two also remained silent and unimpressed.

Meng Qingwu: “…” Why is coaxing them harder than coaxing a girlfriend?

…

“Teacher Cheng, you weren’t here the past few days. We were worried about you!”

A girl who looked barely twenty leaned over toward Cheng Yi, looking at her pale face with concern.

Hearing this, Cheng Yi gave a small, weary smile. “It’s nothing. I just took some rest at home.”

“Teacher Cheng, you really should rest. We saw how hard you were pushing yourself; we were afraid you wouldn’t hold up.” The girl shook her head with a precocious look.

Cheng Yi found it even more amusing but didn’t want to elaborate. “Go tell the others—dinner’s on me tonight. You guys pick the place.”

“Yay! Teacher, you’re the best!” The girl jumped up, gave Cheng Yi a bear hug, and rushed off to inform the other graduate students.

Cheng Yi shook her head. That girl, Nie Qiuyu, was the youngest in their research group and had a very bubbly personality. She was essentially the group’s “mood maker.”

When evening came, the group arrived at Oxygen Drunk, a well-known lounge in B City.

“Hehe, Teacher, are we going to eat you out of house and home?” A male student joked, rubbing his hands together, though he didn’t seem at all worried as he walked inside.

Cheng Yi glanced around casually. “Order whatever you want.”

“Teacher is so generous!” they cheered.

As they entered, a waiter handed each of them a wristband. On the stage, a woman was sitting with a guitar, singing. The song wasn’t intense; it had a soothing, quiet atmosphere.

“Teacher Cheng, can we order alcohol?” someone asked cautiously.

Cheng Yi pulled her gaze away from the stage. Her chest felt tight with a dull ache. Though the song wasn’t loud, it carried a lingering sadness that made her already low mood sink further.

“Drink,” she said simply.

Granted permission, they happily began ordering drinks.

Cheng Yi didn’t join their discussion. As the singing from the stage drifted into her ears, her thoughts began to wander.

…

“Cheng Yi, just sing for me~ please?” Meng Qingwu hugged Cheng Yi from behind, swaying against her.

Cheng Yi was shy and hesitated, too embarrassed to sing.

“Sing, sing! I’ll accompany you, okay?” Meng Qingwu got up to fetch her guitar, her eyes shining with excitement.

Cheng Yi looked down and smiled shyly. Seeing the expectant look on Meng Qingwu’s face, she couldn’t bear to refuse and finally nodded.

Meng Qingwu beamed. She strummed the strings. “Which song do you want?”

Cheng Yi’s gaze remained fixed on Meng Qingwu. She said softly, “Steady Happiness (稳稳的幸福).”

Meng Qingwu paused, met her eyes, and smiled. She nodded vigorously.

“I’ve seen the distant horizon clearly… The happiness I want, I want a steady happiness, One that can withstand the cruelty of the end times, In the restless depths of the night, To have a place to belong… I want a steady happiness, Measured by the length of a lifetime, Every time I reach into my heart, To feel your warmth…”

When Cheng Yi reached that line, she reached out and pulled Meng Qingwu into her arms. Her voice began to choke up with emotion.

The guitar music stopped abruptly as Meng Qingwu hugged her back. Cheng Yi’s nose felt stingy; she wanted that happiness so badly—to walk the length of a lifetime with Meng Qingwu.

…

“Teacher Cheng? What are you thinking about?” Nie Qiuyu tapped Cheng Yi’s shoulder cautiously.

Cheng Yi snapped back to reality. Her thoughts were pulled from the cage of memory back to the cold reality of the present. She felt a profound sense of loss.

Her happiness had been buried by her own hands.

“Teacher Cheng?” Seeing that she still wasn’t speaking, Nie Qiuyu grew more worried.

Cheng Yi shook her head to indicate she was fine. “Is everything ordered?”

They nodded enthusiastically. Cheng Yi scanned what they had ordered, added a few more items, and handed the menu back to the waiter.

At that moment, the singer on stage seemed to be starting an audience interaction segment. The large screen behind her began to spin. When it stopped, the number landed on 73.

“Number 73—the first lucky guest tonight. Are you interested in coming up to perform a song with me?” the female singer said with a smile.

Cheng Yi glanced at it casually and didn’t pay it any mind.

“Eh? We won! We won!” The next second, Nie Qiuyu got excited. She grabbed one of Cheng Yi’s hands—which wore the wristband—and waved it excitedly through the booth window toward the stage.

Cheng Yi: “…”